hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
SSCP Practice Question: A system administrator notices that a server's…
A system administrator notices that a server's certificate was issued by a CA that is not in the trusted root store of client machines. What is the most likely impact on clients connecting via TLS?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume TLS connections will proceed with reduced security or a warning, but in strict implementations (e.g., many browsers and modern applications), the connection is completely blocked rather than just warned.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Clients will receive a certificate warning or be unable to connect.
When a server presents a certificate issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is not in the client's trusted root store, the TLS handshake fails the trust chain validation. The client's TLS library (e.g., OpenSSL, Schannel) will either display a certificate warning to the user or terminate the connection with an error such as 'SEC_ERROR_UNKNOWN_ISSUER' in Firefox or 'ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID' in Chrome, depending on the client's security policy.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Clients will receive a certificate warning or be unable to connect.
Why this is correct
Untrusted CA causes a trust error, resulting in a warning or failure.
- ✗
The server will automatically obtain a new certificate.
Why it's wrong here
Servers do not automatically replace certificates; manual action is needed.
- ✗
Clients will connect but with reduced cipher strength.
Why it's wrong here
Untrusted CA does not affect cipher negotiation.
- ✗
Clients will be able to connect without any warning.
Why it's wrong here
Clients will warn or block due to untrusted CA.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SSCP exam.